Taken
by Angle of Anime
Summary: Keitaro is taken away from Kimi because he's a bijuu host, who desperately wants to get him back safely. However, Tsuchikage won't let her go alone after being injured the 1st time. He forces her to accept help from Konoha shinobi! Chapters lengthen
1. Prologue

Taken

_Angel of Anime_

**Prologue:**

She hung her head lowly, clutching her left side with her right hand. It wasn't until she lifted her face that they realized just how badly injured she was. Thin lines of red liquid streamed out of each corner of her mouth. Wary eyes marked that the girl had pushed herself more than half-way past her limits just to deliver the message that had been nagging at her since yesterday.

"They've taken him," she whispered so low and raucously that most of them in the room had to read her cracked lips or lean forward to understand. "They've taken Keitaro…" After uttering those last words, she collapsed onto the green tiled floor.

Upon closer inspection, the six rather appalled people in the large room could see a crimson-stained hand, from holding her bleeding side. Her dark hair was a ratted mess and her pale complexion was even paler from loss of blood. Numerous deep cuts and scratches covered her flesh, as well as bruises and dirt on her clothing; which also had many rips and holes in them. However, no one saw the greatest of all wounds until the young girl was picked up to be placed on a stretcher and her hand fell limply to her side. The young and inexperienced Medic Nin holding her form gasped and nearly dropped her. In her abdomen was a clean-cut void, three inches thick, in front of her left kidney and ending a mere centimeters from her right.

That was when a very important-looking man with blond hair ordered loudly and urgently, "Get this child to the hospital immediately!" His command was obeyed without any further delay, and when everyone that was there had gone, his hands were behind his back as he let out a rueful sigh. _I thought she could handle her mission_, he thought, gazing out the window at the night sky.

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A/n: I really like my prologue. Next chapter Naruto and the team come in! I really might sort of have to modify some personalities, such as Sai's and Yamato's because I don't know what they'd say exactly, but I'll try my best. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

Taken

_Angel of Anime_

**Chapter One:**

Kimi slowly opened her eyes at a faint beeping sound that could only be that of the hospitals' heart-rate monitor. _What… happened?_ The lighting in the room was bright, which caused her pained head to pound even more. _That's right, I remember now… Keitaro was… Keitaro was…_The fourteen year old shot forward, shrieking, "Oh no! I've got to save him! Keita---" Someone clearing their throat interrupted Kimi's panic, and she calmed. "L-Lord Tsuchikage…"

"You're injured terribly; you shouldn't have acted so rashly." He reprimanded in a low voice. Wearing a Tsuchikage's uniform, the man stood six feet tall and sported broad shoulders and shady brown eyes. And then in a different, concerned tone, he added, "So, it was _them_, wasn't it? They have him…"

The hospitalized female had two fractured ribs, a sprained ankle and a broken arm, as well as numerous minor scrapes and bruises and her newly stitch-up side. Wavy black hair framed her face as she looked down sullenly. "Yes, I… I couldn't save him. It's my fault he's gone and I will be the one that saves him." Kimi's voice quivered but she didn't weep. She was dressed in a loose light blue, short-sleeved top with a V-neck that went low enough for part of the bandages that covered her chest to be seen. Also, her shorts were a similar color, only a bit darker. Two white band-aids stuck to both of her cheeks, and more gauze was wrapped tightly around her arms and legs. "We don't have much time. They told me it takes three days for them to extract the bijuu, but they hadn't prepared soon enough. Keitaro will be held captive until they are, though that doesn't give us much longer; only an extra day or two. They _didn't_ expect it to be so easy to capture him," the last sentence was her way of ridiculing herself.

"What are you going to do?" inquired Tsuchikage thoughtfully. He was gazing out the window, his hands clasped behind his back. It was still morning, but brighter than usual. "You don't intend on fighting against those people yourself, do you? Even you are not strong enough, Kimika." Kimika was her full first name, and Kimi was just a nickname.

In a flash, Kimi was standing before Tsuchikage; he didn't flinch. "I wasn't strong enough to keep them from getting their grimy hands on him, and they let me live only because they pitied me. I was on the ground, barely even conscious, and they let me live because they wanted me to wallow away in misery. Because of me… because of me, Keitaro is in danger! No matter what, no matter what, I'll… by myself I have to… to save him… or else others will be in danger, too… I can't let that… _I can't let that happen!_" At first when she spoke she seemed unconfident, but towards the end her tone was brimming with it.

"There are no available ninja at this time; none that aren't Genin, that is. I will request assistance from one of our ally countries and _they_ will go to Keitaro's aid. Currently you are in no condition to go _anywhere_." Tsuchikage spoke sternly, his eyes still directed outside; but Kimi still objected desperately.

Pleading, she began, "It's my fault that he's gone and I absolutely refuse to---ngh!" Letting out a painful cry at the back of her throat, Kimi collapsed onto the ground. The wound on her side had reopened. Tsuchikage knelt down at her side.

"Are you all right, Kimika?" He lifted her shirt a bit and placed his tanned palm on the red-soaked bandages.

She pushed his large hand away mulishly, teeth gritted. "I'm fine. Like I said before," her face was turned opposite way of his, "I'll do this,_ all on my own._Please, Lord Tsuchikage… I have to do this. I have to save Keitaro." She held her wound.

In defeat, Tsuchikage sighed. "Very well, I'll allow you to go." Kimi looked at him ecstatically. "_However_, you'll go with other ninja, from Konoha. If you don't agree with this, then I'll have to tie you to the hospital bed; I know you, and you'd try to go off by yourself. I can't and won't allow that, Kimika."

"You know you can't keep me from leaving just by tying me up, Lord Tsuchikage. But even so, I'll oblige to this." Kimi decided that the compromise would be good enough, but when she and the requested ninja arrived at their destination she would make sure not to let them go into any fights with her. "I'm leaving today; I'll be on my way to Konoha in an hour and reach it in no more than four."

"Understood," he nodded and stood. It seemed just then that the girl was the Kage there, giving the orders, while the real one was the Shinobi receiving them.

--

Securing her pack more tightly on her shoulders, Kimi nodded her head once. She was at the village's gates. "I'm leaving."

Tsuchikage answered, "Come back this time without serious injuries. You haven't recovered yet, so be sure to _rely_on those assigned to help you. I've already sent a messenger bird to Konoha, and it's probably arrived there by now." He seemed to have wanted to say something more, but hesitance overcame him.

Kimi hesitated as well, but for a different reason than he. "Mhm, yeah. Bye." She would've said, _'I'll see you'_, but somehow she believed she wouldn't. And anyway, Keitaro was her only priority. If she could save him, it would be fine if she died doing it. As long as he was safe, it would be okay.

In another moment, Kimi was out of sight and on her way to the village she was sent to. _Keitaro, please be safe; at least hold out long enough for me to get there. Please… Keitaro…_

-X-

She found the Hokage's tower and office easily, but cursed herself for getting there later than she expected. _It's all because of this darn wound. Darn it!_She breathed to calm herself and knocked on the door. "Enter," said a woman's voice. Kimi walked into the room which looked remarkably alike to Tsuchikage's own office.

"I'm Kimika Ishiyama. The requested ninja are ready to leave, right?" She'd gotten straight to the point, not wanting to waste much more of hers and Keitaro's precious time. The girl didn't even notice the others in the room.

"Of course," replied the blonde woman, her hands clasped in front of her. She gestured toward four people, three of which appeared fifteen or sixteen, and the fourth in his mid or late twenties. The girl in the group had short pink hair and green eyes, wearing a red, no-sleeved shirt and a short skirt with slits on the sides and grey leggings; and one of the boys had spiky blond hair and blue eyes, wearing an orange and black jacket and pants. The other had a black head and similar colored eyes, a black short-sleeved belly shirt, and a pale complexion. And the oldest in the group had on a green vest that a Jounin ranked shinobi would wear. He also had brown hair and very dark eyes.

Kimi couldn't help it; she had to protest to this. She flung out her arms defiantly, but strangely she didn't yell. There was a problem with the way they looked. "Is this it? Two Chunnin, a Genin, and a Jounin? I can't work with them." Her voice wasn't loud, but it held apparent strength, that was for sure. No one noticed that she could tell what rank they were just by looking at them.

"Whoa, hold on, hold on," said the yellow headed boy. "What do you mean, 'a Genin'?"

Kimi directed her eyes to him, but didn't turn her head. "You _are_a Genin, aren't you?" She was wearing a violet shirt that fell a little below the point where her legs began, and she also had a crimson band around her slim waist. The sleeves were loose and reached her elbows; they went across her shoulders slackly. In the middle of the cloth was a two and a half inch slit that was a bit bigger than an inch wide, where one inch of fishnets were visible, attached to the upside-down triangle part of the blouse. With her fishnets only reaching as high as they did, a thin line of cleavage peeked out. Tight blue leggings clung to her, reaching her mid-thigh. Purple sandals were on her feet, and her arms were still bandaged; her abdomen and chest were bound too, but that part of her wasn't able to be seen.

It was the kunoichi, whose name was Sakura, that responded. "Naruto went on a long trip and didn't get to take the Chunnin Exams." She ruffled the boy's hair, to which he reacted with a series of complaints.

"The message we received wasn't specific on any details, so we called them to take it on. Is there a problem?" voiced a woman wearing a long kimono, Shizune.

"Yes, there's a problem!" Kimi shouted, but then fell silent for a moment, averting her gaze left and right, seemingly embarrassed by her outburst. And then, more gently, she continued. "I need Jounin that can handle S-rank or higher missions, someone who can handle---" For a second the girl hesitated, and then decided it would be all right to say it. "--- Akatsuki."

Lady Hokage spoke, "So, Akatsuki is on the move?" Her pitch was a calm one, but she was concerned deeply. It had been a month since anyone had heard anything about the organization of criminals, which made her wonder and always on guard. "What happened?" Of course, the pig-tailed woman didn't want an entire, long story, just the significant tidbits.

Three full minutes passed before Kimi answered the question. Naruto was itching to say something, but the tension-filled air prevented even a small peep from him or anyone. "Keitaro is one of the nine jinchuriki, and those _bastards_ got a hold of him. I've only got five or six days to save him, so I have to leave right away." The whole time she said this, her gaze was at the floor and her hands were balled into tight fists.

"I see. Then we'll assemble a new squad of ANBU right away." Naruto was griping now.

"I'm going," he told the fifty-year-old Kage stubbornly, looking her dead in the face. She scolded him and told him it was too dangerous for him. Kimi thought she understood this, since he was just a Genin, but of course he couldn't go for a different reason. "But Granny Tsunade, I have to! You've got to let me go!" After further whining, more than a few bruises from Sakura, a confused Sai, and spooky glares from Yamato, Tsunade finally gave in with an exasperated sigh.

She told him, "Fine. Since Yamato will be there, he'll be able to make sure you stay yourself. Don't put yourself in harm's way." And with that the team and Kimi left to the village's gates, on their way to Water country, though Kimi couldn't help but wonder what the Legendary Sannin had meant by: '_yourself._' But she just shrugged it off for the time, only caring about the little boy that needed rescuing.

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A/n: I thought about placing this before Shippuden, so that I could put good-Sasuke in it, but then I thought it would be too unlikely to make it that way because none of them had a real chance at defeating any of the Akatsuki. I mean, Sakura just barely beat Sasori, so… Eh, I think I'll probably re-write this so it seems less messy (I seemed messy to me, how about to you?), but it'll stay mostly the same when/if I do. Um, well, thanks reading!

P.S. I hope I got most facts right and sorry if no one spoke enough or too much. I've never written anything with Yamato or Sai, and it's hard to keep Shippuden people in-character with all the bad words they say (I'll try to put some, but not too many). So, bare with me, I might have to modify some personalities (Yamato's and Sai's; Akatsuki members), but I'll try my best to keep them the same! Thanks again!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...**


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